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Montana’s Rural Voters Could Decide State’s Constitutional Abortion Protections
Nowadays, Lillian Thomas takes her clipboard with her everywhere she goes. She carries it on hikes, to work, and even to her son’s friends’ birthday parties. Thomas is one of several hundred volunteers who have been trained to collect signatures for Constitutional Initiative 128, which “would amend the Montana Constitution to expressly provide a right to make and carry out decisions about one’s own pregnancy, including the right to abortion.”
Students Head to Rural Oklahoma for the Summer of Research
Maya Miller is from Huntsville, Alabama, the most populous city in the state. She’s spending the summer of 2024 in rural Oklahoma, however, as part of a program at Oklahoma State University to bring university students from across the country to less populated parts of the state. Miller, who...
‘Coming to the Plains’ Project Documents Latino Residents’ Journeys to Small-town Nebraska
During an international studies course at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK), a student’s mother visited the class to discuss what it was like to flee El Salvador during a political conflict during the 1980s. “I looked around the classroom,” said associate professor of Spanish Michelle Warren in...
SNAP Advocates Prefer Senate Approach over House Farm Bill.
The Farm Bill debate will be front-and-center in Congress this week, with the House Agriculture Committee holding their first official markup of draft legislative text Thursday, May 23rd. After numerous delays and missed deadlines, Congress began the work-intensive process of analyzing draft text of the Farm Bill. It will be...
Analysis: Rural Voters Don’t Wield Disproportionate Power in Senate, Electoral College
In a previous article, we addressed the inaccurate assertion that rural voters control a disproportionate share of the U.S. House of Representatives. Today, let's address the common claim that rural voters wield an unfair share of power in the Senate and Electoral College. I won't keep you waiting. They don't.
Affordable Broadband Program Sputters to a Halt, Ending Free Internet for 3.2 Million Rural Households
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is today paying out the dregs of a fund that Congress established in 2021 to help lower-income families connect to the internet. The Affordable Connectivity Program, part of the landmark 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, is out of money as of May 31, 2024.
Report: Rural America Produces Greenhouse Gasses on Behalf of Urban and Suburban Areas
A new report shows that at least 36% of annual greenhouse gas emissions in the United States come from rural America, but they’re mostly used to produce energy and food for urban and suburban America. And while rural communities – particularly low-income and rural communities of color – are...
45 Degrees North: Field Trips
In rural northern Wisconsin, if you want to know how maple syrup is made, just ask a fourth grader. Many kids here experience sugaring firsthand around that age on school field trips when sap is flowing in early spring. Their teachers put a sweet spin on science, math and history lessons, and kids learn more than just what it takes to make syrup for pancakes.
Report: Thousands of Rural New Yorkers At Risk of Losing USDA-Financed Homes
A report from a New York organization says that some low-income rural residents in the state may soon be at risk of losing their homes following the expiration of USDA-financed mortgages that provide protections and rental subsidies to tenants. Money from the state may help repair and rehabilitate some of the buildings, but nationwide, the program is undergoing challenges.
Rural Entertainment Roundup: What To Watch This Summer
Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in The Good, the Bad, and the Elegy, a newsletter from the Daily Yonder focused on the best, and worst, in rural media, entertainment, and culture. Every other Thursday, it features reviews, retrospectives, recommendations, and more. You can join the mailing list at the bottom of this article to receive future editions in your inbox.
Ozarks Notebook: Teaching, Sharing and Preserving Black History in Rural Arkansas
Pat Johnson’s long-lasting dream has been to make a difference. A small, white building in Pocahontas, Arkansas, stands as proof of her success: About 25 years ago, Pat led the charge to save the former one-room school in her hometown and transform it into a community hub. That mission...
California Pays Meth Users To Get Sober
This story was originally published by KFF Health News. Here in the rugged foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada, the streets aren’t littered with needles and dealers aren’t hustling drugs on the corner. But meth is almost as easy to come by as a hazy IPA or locally...
Rural Coloradans’ Show Strong Support for Abortion-Rights Constitutional Amendment
Patty Coen was able to finish her bachelor’s degree because she had an abortion. Ever since, the Southwest Colorado resident has been an advocate for abortion access and reproductive justice. She worked as a nurse at a reproductive-care agency in Durango for about seven years. When a campaign started...
Alabama Coal Company Sued for a Home Explosion That Killed a Man Is Delinquent on Dozens of Penalties, Records Show
This story was originally published by Inside Climate News. Clara Riley thought she was having a heart attack. As an Alabama mine has slowly approached the coal seam under her home, Riley’s anxiety has sometimes gotten the best of her. In late April, after a mine representative visited her home, the 90-year-old said she broke down. She could feel the weight of it all on her chest.
On the Ground With Toolmakers Helping Small Farmers Keep It Local
This story was originally published by Modern Farmer. Since the back-to-the-land movement of the ’60s, many dedicated land workers have championed the hard work of DIY, highlighting self-sufficiency and personal growth, as well as an increased connection to the earth as hard-won sources of joy. Small farmers often tout the benefits of shopping locally, including improving food security and contributing to the local economy. Because of the stories and advocacy of dedicated land stewards who so keenly express the advantages of buying close to home, many folks have embraced local sources of food and other household goods. However, when it comes to buying tools to use on the farm, homesteaders and farmers often run to Tractor Supply or click “add to cart” on Amazon when they are in need of an implement to get the job done.
45 Degrees North: When Rural Neighbors Hoard
My mother was a meticulous housekeeper with no tolerance for clutter but a surprising acceptance of dusty surfaces (that came from living on a gravel road). My own standards are more relaxed, but not so much that I fear drop-in visitors will call the health department. And generally I have no trouble at all overlooking other people’s messes. But sometimes it’s hard.
Q&A: On Feral Horses, Island Polycules, and Southern Writing
Editor’s Note: This interview first appeared in Path Finders, an email newsletter from the Daily Yonder. Each week, Path Finders features a Q&A with a rural thinker, creator, or doer. Like what you see here? You can join the mailing list at the bottom of this article and receive more conversations like this in your inbox each week.
Video: Meet the High School Students Running a Recycling Business
It’s nice that big problems can have really useful solutions. In Cañon City, Colorado, they’re getting students the experience they need for future jobs while promoting the practice of reducing, reusing/repurposing, and recycling. Aligning with the high school’s mascot, they call it Tiger Recycling. Tiger Recycling...
College Faculty and Staff Face Retribution for Including Pronouns, Tribal Affiliation in Email Signatures
Editor’s Note: A version of this story first appeared in Mile Markers, a twice monthly newsletter from Open Campus about the role of colleges in rural America. You can join the mailing list at the bottom of this article to receive future editions in your inbox. Battles over diversity,...
Rural Schools Look for Ways to Bring More Multilingual Education into the Curriculum
Throughout rural America, non-native English speakers are less likely than their urban peers to get proper support in school, sometimes leading to a lifetime of lower educational attainment. But some rural schools are developing multilingual education strategies to rival those found in urban and suburban districts. In general, it’s easier...
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